Karachi: Sindh Minister for Health Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho met with representatives of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to discuss Gender Equality and Empowerment in province, in regards to health. Meeting was attended by Dr. Anita Zaidi President, Gender Equality Division, BMGF, Gwyn Hainsworth senior Programme Officer, Family Planning BMGF, Dr. Yasmeen Qazi Senior Country Advisor BMGF, Secretary Population Welfare Rehan Baloch and Technical Advisor Population Welfare Dr. Talib Lashari.

Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said that education is most important factor of person's development. Unless women are educated, their health will not improve since education is tied into everything. Better and more advanced education ensures that girls learn about hygiene, how to care for self and community, it will enable delay in their marriage so they are not being impregnated while they are still children which in turn results in healthier babies, spacing between pregnancies, so healthy mothers, better economic systems for her family and list goes on.

She added that Sindh Health Department is also focusing on deworming and treating anemia in girls and women in order to reduce malnutrition in them and their children. There is also work being done to bring life skills and self-care into their education and for this purpose there are community midwives available 24/7 in each district who aside from facilitating safe deliveries are also trained to be community workers.

They do house calls for new mothers and help identify any health or hygiene concerns. This includes help with breastfeeding, postpartum and postnatal care and in general keep an eye out for how new mothers are adjusting. A pilot project of this work is implemented in 9 centres in Tharparkar.

Service delivery and communication strategy is important for work on women overall health as this includes marriage counselling, family planning, early child development and reproductive health rights. Dr. Pechuho added that workforce of Lady Health Workers has been given pamphlets in Sindhi by World Health Organisation for capacity building in work of family planning and women's agency and health.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 06 2023

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